Marc's Musings

This weekend, we remember the thousands of veterans who’ve fought and died for us to enjoy the privileges we take for granted.

One of those privileges is the ability to participate in choosing our leaders. A privilege the majority of us will blow off.

Here in Maine, June 8 is an election day. The two major parties will be nominating their gubernatorial candidates and as well as candidates for some state offices. We will also be deciding important issues for our state and our communities.

But it’s estimated that less than 30% of us will even show up at the polls.

Less than 30%.

Please, let’s remember the sacrifice of our veterans and those currently protecting us by turning out and voting.

Whatever your issue, whoever your preferred candidate, a republic like ours is meant to have direct input from each of us. Not just 30%.

Let’s remember our veterans this weekend and on June 8.

At the end of last year, December 30 to be exact, I did a comparative taste testing of three stouts, my own Stormy Seas Stout, Guinness Extra Stout, and Allagash Black. Today, I’m brewing again–this time a nut brown ale I call “Nuttin’ Ales ME”–so I thought I’d blog the notes from that night.

When I brewed Stormy Seas, I thought I was brewing a clone of a Guinness Extra Stout. But the inclusion of Brettanmyces yeast gave it an unexpected twist. This taste testing was to help me see if it fit in a pre-existing beer “family,” or if it were just weird.

Stormy Seas Stout

• ABV: 6.5%
• Head: tan and relatively thick though a little uneven
• Color: wonderfully opaque (black as midnight on a moonless night)
• Nose: Slightly funky
• Tasting notes: Smooth, almost silky. The funky, melon-y flavors evenly filled my mouth.
• Finish: Sour
• Lingering impression: The silky feeling was what lingered.

Guinness Extra Stout

• ABV: 4.2%
• Head: thin with “harsh,” big bubbles
• Color: wonderfully opaque
• Nose: minimal, but almost…sour…and a little coffee
• Tasting notes: This one surprised me. It had been my favorite but tonight it merely slightly sour, mostly mass produced. Definite coffee flavors. The mouthfeel was disappointingly light.
• Finish: not any sensation in the mouth, just flavor
• Lingering impression: a powerful punch of flavor

Allagash Black

• ABV: 7.5%
• Head: thick and creamy
• Color: wonderfully opaque
• Nose: very nice boquet, clearly a stout, definite coffee notes
• Tasting notes: The carbonation seemed a bit harsh. The beer was slightly sour with definite, lingering coffee impressions.
• Finish: A sourness similiar to Stormy Seas but much cleaner finish
• Lingering impression: A wonderful coffee-esque stout flavor lingered

The Allagash Black was my favorite, and it helped salvage my impressions of my own brew. My stout was simply in a different family than the Guiness Extra. I even found myself liking the silkiness of my beer more than the others. I was surprised to not really like the Guinness. It’s good, but really didn’t taste as distinctive as the Stormy Seas or Allagash Black.

My favorite was the Allagash. So much so that I went down to Portland to tour the factory and taste some others!

Now that it’s been about three months, the Stormy Seas has really mellowed. The ripe cantaloupe flavors are toning down and a solid stout foundation is becoming noticeable. The sourness stays pronounced.

I can’t wait to see how Stormy Seas ages! Chances are I’ll have it for a while. This is definitely a sipping beer.

I was listening to Rob Bell before his book, Velvet Elvis. He’s an amazing communicator of the faith I believe.

Check out this video:

Here’s a quote from near the end of the video:

This group of people who, by their compassion, their generousity, the grace that they extend to others, you find yourself believing, when you’re around them, that God hasn’t given up on the world.

That’s the Gospel.

That’s it.

The Gospel is the good news that God hasn’t given up on the world, that the tomb is empty, and that a giant resurrection rescue is underway. And that you and I can be part of it.

For followers of Jesus, this is a season called “Lent,” a special time of preparation before Easter. If you’re a follower of Jesus, I challenge you to examine whether this is true of you. And of the community of faith you belong to. If it’s not, invite God to show you what you can do to make it so. Or where else He might have you go.

If you don’t consider yourself a follower of Jesus, I hope and pray that you’ll have the opportunity to bump into people like Rob describes. It can be refreshing. It can even be life-changing.

Hat-tip to my pastor, Arlene Tully, for posting this to her blog!

I’ve been told that Gen Xers will have 7 careers during their life, and multiple jobs within those careers. As of today, I’ve started a new job, and if you think of it as a switch from healthcare to politics, possibly a new career as well!

A few weeks ago, I gave my resignation from my position at Inland Hospital. Yesterday was my last day. My favorite gubernatorial candidate, Peter Mills, asked me to direct his statewide campaign and I said “Yes!”

I loved my five years at Inland. It’s a great hospital and a real asset for Waterville. I’m honored to have been able to take the annual fundraising from around $60,000/year to between $250,000 to $500,000 a year. An even more exciting accomplishment was bringing the cost of raising a dollar from $1.75 before I came to around $0.50.

But I never moved to Waterville to take a job at a hospital, as great as that job was. My family and I moved here to start a church. After we closed the church, we looked at moving to OH or PA, but found we’d come to love Waterville.

So this new position is awesome. In it, I get to use social media, use my fundraising expertise, use my marketing skills, use my coaching abilities–I get to bring my whole package to the task at hand!

People seem really concerned about what I’ll do after. And there are a number of hurdles to jump through:

• We need to get 3,250 $5 checks by March 31. That will allow us to qualify for money to run the campaign. (We’re within about 500. If you’re registered to vote in Maine and would like to help, you can find the web page on the State site at: http://bit.ly/5forPeter.)
• We need to get Peter nominated by the Republican voters in the primary on June 8.
• And then we need to get Peter elected on November 9.

Somehow, all of these “known deadlines” seem a lot less risky than the seeming “sure thing” of a steady job. Perhaps it’s because I received half a dozen job inquiries in January. Or perhaps it’s because I continue to get speaking and training invitations. Or because my book on fundraising continues to sell. (Just shipped an entire case of 120 books to New Zealand!) I am also having a blast teaching a course at Thomas College in internet marketing.

Whatever it is, this risk feels more like an adventure. I’m honored to be married to a woman with a spirit of adventure too! (She did make sure I would apply to Starbucks if it didn’t work out so we could at least have health benefits. )

Does Peter Mills have a chance?

I’m often asked if I really think Peter Mills has a chance.

I do.

I have no idea why anyone would make the decision to work on a campaign that they thought didn’t have a chance!

Peter ran in 2006, but he ran a general campaign in the primary. He had a great time connecting with people all over the state. He’s a great fit for Maine. He votes his mind–and he’s got a very smart mind! He researches issues, talks to people that are affected by the legislation, and often writes detailed reports This ends up in his votes being fiscally conservative and socially libertarian.

But I digress. In 2006, he ran a campaign to the whole state when he really needed to get Republican votes for a nomination. And even then, he came within 3 percentage points of being nominated!

More importantly, all the major papers in Maine said that if he’d been nominated in 2006, he’d have beaten the incumbent Governor Baldacci.

He’s definitely the most electable Republican in our state. And yes, I think he has a great chance of winning.

If you’d like to learn more about Peter, check out http://MillsForMaine.com.

Love & War is the latest book from John and Stasi Eldredge. From the authors that brought us Wild at Heart, Captivating, and Epic, comes a book specifically on marriage. So when WaterBrook Multnomah offered to send me a book to reivew, I jumped at the opportunity!

I just got the book but right from the introduction, you get vintage Eldredge take on life. Stasi narrates a wedding ceremony John is officiating. I wish my ceremony had been like this! I love this quote from John:

Daniel and Megan, you are about to abandon yourselves to each other, throw caution to the wind, forsake independence, isolation, and all others. You will vow to each other you undying love. Before you do, we must call this what it is–this is perfect madness.

So true!

The chapters are:

Introduction: It Can Be Done

1. Remembering What We Wanted
2. Love and War
3. A Perfect Storm
4. The Greatest Gift You Can Give
5. More Than Just Roommates
6. How to Have a Really Good Fight
7. A Shared Adventure
8. Back-to-Back with Swords Drawn
9. The Little Foxes
10. When Storms Descend
11. The Chapter on Sex
12. Learning to Love

Epilogue
Appendix: Prayers

The prayers alone make this book a tremendous asset!

I love how the Eldredges remind us of the great adventure we’re on. That’s why we resonate with the great stories and movies of risk and adventure and friendship.

This book helps re-orient the perspectives of married couples. Marriage is a fight, but it’s also a bold adventure. The Eldredges are terrific guides on the journey.

Tonight at dinner, I asked…no…I told my son to stop making noise.

Later in the meal, I started singing along with a song on the radio.

Son: That’s not fair.

Me: You live under the illusion that this should be fair? It doesn’t have to be fair. That’s life.

Son: No, dad. That’s hippocrissy.

My wife and I cracked up. We couldn’t stop laughing!

We asked him if “hippocrissy” was a large gray animal named “Chrissy.”

He was good enough to join in the fun.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to live a life, and have such a positive impact on the world, that my grandkids kids would know who I was.

Have you ever stopped to figure out what your great grandparents did? I bet Martin Luther King Jr.’s greatgrand kids know. That’s the kind of impact I want to have.

For over 20 years, probably even before I was 16, I’ve been working on my life mission. Stephen R. Covey’s book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was a huge help, as was the book First Things First.

Every year I go through my MagnetGoals goal setting process. I find this process really helps me dream up dozens of ideas while allowing me to focus on a few.

I’ve also grown fond of choosing a “theme” for the year. I think of it as a sort of “theme” music. When Luke Skywalker’s theme gets played, you know he’s about to appear on stage. It reminds you about the character. So too with the theme for the year, it brings you back to what you thought the year would be about.

Last year, I came across Chris Brogan’s idea of summing your goals up in three words and I did my own three words for 2009.

I love the process of doing it! And I love sharing these with my friends that are doing it too.

As I processed this year’s three words, I noticed that they have the wonderful benefit of spilling into various areas of my life. They fit in my family relationships, work expectations, and in my fundraising coaching & training business.

Here are my three words for 2010:

Ensembles

By nature, I’m a do-it-yourself kind of guy. I have high expectations and often choose to just get projects done on my own. I didn’t like group projects in school because I felt I’d have to carry more of the load to be sure to get the grade I wanted to get.

But being a solo act can severely limit my impact on the world. Chris & Julien talk about “armies” in Trust Agents but I don’t have a track record of building such a large group of people.

I toyed with the idea of “platoons” as a building step to “armies.” But that too seemed a bit grandiose and a bit too regimented.

So I’m choosing to focus on ensembles . I like the artistic fluidity of the word. Ensembles can be duets, trios, quartets, an occasional quintet—whatever it takes to accomplish a particular goal. This will include ensembles for various fundraising projects at work, those for FundraisingCoach trainings or joint ventures; and even family projects.

Teaching

I feel most alive when I’m teaching. So I want to do it more in 2010.

This includes conducting fundraising trainings, giving keynotes, teaching classes, leading small groups for church, writing blog posts, reading a book with my wife, and learning along side my kids. Teaching is a core part of my DNA. And I love that I’ve been created in a way that people actually learn from what I teach.

I love that the Hebrew word for teach yadah (to cause to know) is the intensified form of the word “to know,” ie. learning. I believe the safest and best teacher is the one who’s committed to life-long learning. Learning is a journey, not a destionation.

In 2010, I want to find ways to do more of both.

Clan

I want to treat my family as well as I treat my donors and my employer. (My wife wants that too. )

“Clan” symbolizes that for me. It speaks of looking out for one another and binding together in a cohesive unit.

My kids are at an age when they still want to talk to me. If I’m not careful, I could totally miss this window of opportunity. I don’t want to be so full of myself that I don’t take the time to be with them.

Even after 15 years of marriage, my wife still enjoys hanging out with me and teaching with me. I don’t want to squander that either. (Plus, I want to be with her for many more decades!)

I envision this including keeping my laptop closed a bit more than in the past…even choosing to close it when one of my kids starts chatting.

As I was writing this, my 10 year old son stood by me to talk. Yep. This laptop screen went down.

Yesterday I got to preach on the Baptism of Jesus at Pleasant St. United Methodist Church.

It was a tremendous honor. Above are the slides. The link to the entire sermon is here:
http://marcpitman.com/misc/a-sermon-on-the-baptism-of-jesus/.